Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 486 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 47,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,142,000 after buying an additional 1,229 shares during the period. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 39,785 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,286,000 after acquiring an additional 3,312 shares during the period. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 39,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,304,000 after purchasing an additional 6,630 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,081,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 19,365 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,086,000 after purchasing an additional 2,764 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $115.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $109.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.72. The company has a market cap of $88.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $90.09 and a 12-month high of $121.25.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. Duke Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp lowered shares of Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.08.

Duke Energy Company Profile

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest.